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The Unofficial Blogger of the Chicago Cubs in Canada

Cubs Get Help From Bill Murray

Just as the Chicago Cubs lost horribly to the Atlanta Braves on Friday, on Saturday they showed the pure power and strength of the team in their 8-2 victory.

Their big guns were out in full force as Miguel Montero hit a three run crusher, Anthony Rizzo bombed one out for a souvenir and Jason Heyward destroyed the corked leather. Let’s not forget Kris Bryant‘s two runner as he displays his (much in the future) Hall of Fame resume.

Who were they behind?

Jake Arrieta. Yeah that’s right, he collected his 10th win of the season and that wasn’t all. Arrieta also showed off his hitting with two hits.

Oh yeah, he struck out 12 too.

“I wanted to come out today with a conscious effort to be aggressive early because I know teams are taking against me early in the count, hoping to get ahead and make me come into their zone,” Arrieta said.

Sure, personal accolades are always cool but in the end, baseball’s a team sport and no matter how well Arrieta or the other players do this season racking up homers, strikeouts and other stats, the only column that will count in the end is the win.

The great news is that Anthony Rizzo is getting his game back with a home run. When he’s in the lineup and healthy, the team captain is one heck of a game changer.

“Just read the lineup — it’s like when you read a novel, when it’s missing a paragraph or a chapter,” Joe Maddon said. “When you put his name in the lineup, everything looks different. … The other team looks at it differently, so it’s very important to have him in the lineup.”

It’s funny that although Arrieta and Ben Zobrist lead their respective categories in Wins and OBP, the Cubs are at the top of the pack with their 42 victories. It shows right there how well this team has gelled and makes for a potentially long October month.

It’s no secret that Bill Murray is probably the most famous and disputably biggest fan of the Cubs so perhaps his attendance in the dugout yesterday contributed to the victory.

“Obviously, he’s a good luck charm,” Maddon said. “Murray is so into what we’re doing. I think the players grabbed some energy from that. It’s definitely not a bandwagon situation. These guys are legit.”